Pediatric Surgery, Over and Done

I’ve been a bit stressed about Eudora’s scheduled pediatric surgery. Yesterday we took her into the hospital and had a suspected dermoid cyst excised and sent for biopsy. It was an adventure, to say the least.

The first stumbling block was something that we carefully considered: Eudora had to fast. Because her pediatric surgery included going under general anesthetic, she couldn’t have anything to eat or drink. No food after midnight but clear fluids were okay… until 5:45 A.M. Yeah, right. The plan was to essentially starve our daughter. Sure, the husband and I both knew that it was done so that there would be reduced odds of choking on her own vomit while she was under anesthesia… but we’re grown ups. Eudora is a baby. When she’s exceptionally hungry, she complains rather noisily. To make it easier on all of us, I let Eudora sleep until it was time to get ready to go to the hospital.

The second stumbling block was the husband’s anxiety. Sure, I wasn’t particularly thrilled with her going under general anesthesia. It made me rather nervous and uncomfortable. I worried. But I couldn’t lean on my husband for support. I needed to do my best to reassure him.

Still, we dealt with it. Eudora was sweet and happy and charming for the first little while. She did, however, get impatient when we were waiting at patient admission. That took far longer than usual. When we went up to day surgery (which is where procedures that require general anesthetic and have a same day release are scheduled), was sweet and charming. Right away, we changed her into a little tiny hospital gown. You could see her Plum Pie Best Bottom diaper peeking out when she tried to crawl away on the gurneys. That tiny little hospital gown was just about the saddest thing that I’d ever seen. Sure, Eudora was only in it for pediatric surgery that would have her in the hospital for a few hours… but the knowledge that other children actually needed them for far longer than that was just so, so awful.

Then came the fun stuff: they needed to take her stats. The nurse tried a few different methods of using the pulse oximeter on Eudora: her toes, her fingers, and no dice. Eudora screamed and fought, and was too cold and too tiny to actually get a reading. The nurse started trying other attachments to measure her O2 and heartrate. Some were flexible loops that seemed to be made of silicone. Either way, Eudora screamed and hated it. When we were finally done with that part, she started smiling at the nurses and waving. Apparently, the princess was done: she started telling them “bye bye!” It was cute and precious… and it just broke my heart. My daughter was doing her best to communicate that she was ready to go home, and I had to ignore what she was telling me.

Then it was back out to the waiting room. She was fussy. She was hungry. She was getting tired. She was throwing her stuffies. The only thing that kept her entertained was when she snatched both my and my husband’s iPhones. (Fortunately, we had Lifeproof cases on them, so they were safe from her drooling and eventual dropping.) By the time we went back to the “it’s almost time for pediatric surgery” spot, she was just miserable. She bit me. I actually warned the nurse who took her back for her surgery to be careful of my little biter.

Then they took her away. I walked away in a hurry so that my husband wouldn’t see me tear up a bit. He was having a hard enough time; the last thing that he needed was to try to console me. Then it was time to wait.

It was forever. At least, it felt that way. We were told by her specialist that this particular pediatric surgery would only take fifteen minutes. At the thirty minute mark, I went back to the nurse’s station to ask them what was going on. I had expected to get my baby back by that time. That was when they explained that just because the surgery only took fifteen minutes didn’t mean she’d only be in the operating room for fifteen minutes. It would be more like an hour. And then they’d keep her in recovery without us for a bit since she’d still be under anesthesia.

I went to grab something from the cafeteria while the husband waited in the hall. While I was gone, he went back in to be with her. (Only one of us was allowed to be with her in recovery at a time.) He sent me the most heartbreaking picture of our baby girl.

She woke up while I was at my own specialist appointment across the street. When Sleeping Beauty woke up from her medically induced sleep, it wasn’t so sweet. Eudora was not happy. She was hungry. She had a painful pokey thing (also known as an IV) stuck in her hand. Fortunately, she didn’t have to stay in recovery for long. They took her stats once more and then released her.

When we got home, it was feeding time. She feasted on a light but plentiful snack of Cheerios and water. (I was warned to keep it light because she’d probably throw it back up.) No barfing, but still quite a bit of swelling. And this morning, that eye is practically swollen shut.

Did you ever have a pediatric surgery session for your children? How did it go?

Update: It’s been nearly a year, and her cyst was just a cyst. She’s beautiful and perfect… and doesn’t even have a scar. ~ May 7, 2014.

Comments

oh poor baby!!! 🙁
I one time had to take my 2.5yo to the hospital for something and he had to put on one of those little gowns. While it was cute on him it was really sad knowing there are so many babies who have to wear one much longer. Glad you’re little love is doing well and didn’t get sick at all from the surgery.

My son had a cyst removed when he was 1 1/2. It definitely caused some anxiety, especially the being put under anesthesia part. But all went well and he did great! Hope your little one is recovering well too!

We’ve had to do the fasting thing a bunch with my son, usually for tests though…one time, when he was 2 I think, he had to wait until after lunch ..fasting..while other people ate int he waiting room. he did great though. he had day surgery once and he didn’t get to eat until we got home at like, 6pm..he ate like 6 places of mac and cheese despite the fact it had been dental surgery lol

Aw, your poor baby! My son had to have tubes put in his ears this past August. It was terrible to see him coming out of anesthesia because he was flopping around like a fish. The nurses were trying to tell me what needed to be done while my son was trying to throw up and they didn’t know until I told them. That upset me a little. He was fine though. Poor girl looks rough! I hope she gets to feeling better soon and that everything turns out all right!

I remember going through tubes, adnoids and tonsils with my daughter. It can be very nerve racking as a parent, no matter what their age. Prayers to your little one for a fast recovery and for you and your husband to be calm through the process.

What a trooper! My son had to be put under 2 times last month because he was having strokes and he needed to have MRI’s and everything. Nothing compared to this! but one of the worse parts for me was them putting him under while i was holding him. D:

How did your baby’s cyst look before surgery? After much research, I think my 10 month old baby girl might have one. She was born with this dimple on her collarbone area. When you touch and press down it looked and felt like a little blackhead with a little lump under the skin. Doctors didn’t think much of it and just told me to keep an eye out for changes. 10 months later and it has started growing! 🙁 It looks like a cyst now and feels a little warm to the touch with a reddish color. She has an appointment tomorrow. I’m praying and will remain positive no matter what! Btw, you have a beautiful and strong baby right there!

It was just a tiny little lump. At first, it was so small that I just thought it was a little discoloration by her eye like I have. (It’s a patch of skin that’s really light and isn’t even noticeable unless I do eye shadow.) No reddish color at all. It’s probably nothing to worry about; babies get little weird lumps. Even when they have to come off for whatever reason, they’re generally nothing to worry about. Good luck! (And thanks, we think she’s pretty precious… but we’re admittedly biased!)